Crystal Support for Mercury Retrograde

    Ah, Mercury retrograde...It's a time we love to hate. It gets blamed for all the major and minor annoyances of our lives.  In case you are not into astrology (and I only know enough to be dangerous), a Mercury retrograde is when from our viewpoint on Earth the planet Mercury appears to be moving backwards in its orbit in the sky. (The same thing happens when you pass a car on the highway. The other car seems to move backwards in respect to your car.) Mercury retrograde occurs 3X a year, and lasts about 3 weeks, although its effects can be felt much longer. The planet Mercury rules both Gemini and Virgo. Mercury is known as the messenger of the gods. Thus Mercury rules the mind, mental processes, communication, travel, and commerce. So when Mercury is doing its little backwards dance, many have challenges in these areas which is often experienced as lost emails, faxes, or mail, travel delays or cancellations, computers telephones, and other electronics acting wonky, missed appointments, and miscommunication. And depending on the sign it is retrograde in (at the time of this writing it is in Pisces and will be going back into Aquarius), some may be more sensitive to its energies than others. Since Mercury is my sun sign's ruling planet sometimes I wish I could just remain in bed under the covers until it is over. But that is not practical or possible; life must go on. But instead of cussing and freaking out, look at this time as a gift of rest and healing. Just as tides come in and go out and seasons come and go, recognize this as just another energy cycle and learn to work with it. The keys words for Mercury retrograde begin with the prefix re: redo, review, reflect, repair, re-evaluate, regroup, etc. And there are various crystals and gemstones that can support you at this time. 

    One very helpful stone is Chinese fluorite. Fluorite is great for all mental processes: decision making, test taking, and organizing your thoughts.

    Although not a crystal, one amulet that I wear constantly is the Winged Liberty or Mercury dime, which is 90% silver. Silver is a soothing, cooling metal that is aligned with lunar, feminine energy. Silver is also very protective. In hoodoo, a silver dime is worn around the ankle on a thin chain for protection. if the chain breaks or the dime turns black, it indicates that there is spiritual work being done against you. Since silver turns black in the presence of sulfur, which is an ingredient in hot foot powder and goofer dust, it acts as a warning. 

    Blue lace agate is another calming stone that you can wear or carry for peace in stressful situations. Blue lace agate will also help you to communicate more clearly.

    Emerald is a heart chakra stone that is good for love, harmony, and healing. It also assists communication, intuition, and decision making. It is also very soothing for the eyes.

    Amazonite is a beautiful blue-green feldspar that helps you to tap into your inner warrior. It's color spans the throat and heart chakras, thus it helps you to speak your truth boldly but with love. 

    Malachite is a beautiful dark green stone with distinctive bands and circles that's good for protection against the evil eye. It also absorbs EMFs (electromagnetic frequencies), thus it is good to place around televisions, computers, and telephones. It can also be placed in the cash register to draw business. 

    Hematite with it's high iron content is one of the best grounding and protecting stones. It helps to stabilize you, deflect negativity, and aid mental clarity, focus, and concentration.

    Sodalite is a lovely dark blue stone with white veins. Sodalite is wonderful for grounding and stilling the mind. Sodalite can help with focus, concentration, and organizing one's thinking. Rest laying down with a piece of sodalite on your forehead after you come home from work to release the stress and tension of your day. You can also place it near televisions and computers to absorb EMFs.

    These are just a few of the gemstones that can be used to manage any stress you may experience during this time. 

New Year New Moons

    We are approaching the second new moon of the first month of 2014. The second new moon in a month is called a black moon (the 2nd full moon in a month is called a blue moon). For some, the black moon is considered to be a special time where any spiritual workings are seen as more powerful and effective. This new moon, as well as the new moon earlier this month, is also considered a supermoon. A supermoon is a new or full moon at perigee, or close to Earth. Since we cannot see a new moon, this doesn't seem to make the news as much as a full supermoon, which can be seen in all it's brilliance. But those living near the ocean may observe larger than usual tides, though. There will be three full supermoons in 2014: July, August, and September, with the one in August being the closest.

    This new moon will occur on Thursday, January 30, 2014, at 4:39 p.m. EST at approximately 11 degrees Aquarius. I also noticed that the date 1/30/2014 equals the master number 11. This new moon will be a great time to to truly begin to express youir authentic self and follow your intuitive hunches. This new moon also supports sharing your uniquely Divine intelligence with the world and using your special skills, gifts, talents and abilities for the upliftment of the energy of the planet. The moon's sextile to Uranus amps up and reinforces the lunar energy encouraging you to "let your freak flag fly", as astrologer Benjamin Bernstein likes to say.

    The Sabian symbol of 11 degrees Aquarius is "Man tete-a-tete with his imagination", from The Sabian Symbols and Psychologigical Analysis by Blaine Bovee, p.200. Tete-a-tete literally means "head to head". And this image symbolizes the experience of a person being inspired to higher wisdom or creativity. This is the great meeting of the minds-- the self with the Higher Self, a person having a heart-to-heart conversation with his soul. This is the inward experience of receiving divine inspiration, ideas, and flashes of insight. And these ideas are coming directly from the Light into the crown chakra. I love the wording of the Sabian symbol from the "This Week in Astrology" podcast: “During a silent hour, a man receives a new inspiration which may change his life.” So we have the opportunity during this time for for deep transformation, release, and healing if we ask for it. 

    This post would not be complete without discussing gemstones to help you tap into the energy of this lunation. The energy of Aquarius is revolutionary, unpredictable, intuitive, and unique. Aquarians tend to march to their own drumbeat. Even though Aquarius is the sign of the water bearer, it is actually an air sign. So here are a few stones to tap into the flow of the elements of air and water. Blue apatite helps us to connect to high levels of spiritual guidance. It helps open the throat chakra, aiding us in public speaking and group communication. Aquamarine is a calming stone that quiets the mind allowing one to hear the voice of the Divine. It also promote self expression and encourages service to humanity. Larimar is a stone that deepens meditation encourages spiritual evolution. It also fascilitates communication with other realms. Amethyst is a stone of spirituality and transformation. It is one of the best crystals for aiding meditation and dream recall. Chrysocolla is a lovely blue-green stone with a gentle, harmonious vibe. It helps strengthen communication and self-expression and opens psychic vision. Moonstone is a wonderful crystal for tapping into lunar energy. Its energy helps strengthen intuition and enhances creativity. And angelite, as its name suggests, is a powerful stone that helps us to communicate with the angelic kingdom. Its soothing energy also helps you to speak your truth in a gentle manner. So with these stone allies let us set the intention to grow into our greatness.